City of Spirits
by whiteroses12
Summary: Clary, Jace, and the rest of the crew have old and new problems to face. Valentine, Clary's mother still being in a coma, and a discovery that will change everything are just a few. This is my version of the next book in the Mortal Instruments series.
1. Prologue Wrong to Right

**This story is rated PG-13. It might turn R later, but for right now it is PG-13. I think T is the rating for fiction. Anyway its been awhile since I've read the books so some things might be wrong. If they are please correct me...nicely of course lol. I'm always scared when posting fiction. Anyway I don't own any of the characters or ideas except for a few, but you'll all know the ones that belong to Cassandra Clare and her AWESOME series. Okey dokey enjoy!**

**CITY OF SPIRITS-PROLOGUE-WRONG TO RIGHT**

The room was dark, only the light of a fading candle illuminated the small chamber. All around the room an unnatural cold filled the air, and the feeling of fear was strong and hard. An odd breeze came from no where causing the dust and dirt on the floor to flutter in all directions.

In the middle of the small chamber was a beautiful and magnificent table made out of pure glass, and on that table sat the only source of light, the small candle plus a golden dagger with a magnolia made out of diamonds placed in the handle of the dagger. The flame of the candle cast a reflection on the dagger making it look like the knife was on fire itself.

Beside the dagger lay a small and pale hand that shook in fear and confusion. The hand belonged to a woman, and the woman was seated on a glass chair beside the table, and she was the only source of sound in the room. Her soft sobbing echoed off the stone walls of the chamber making the small room even more eerie.

The woman's hair was long and golden; it fell over her shoulders like threads of pure gold, and at this moment it was wet with tears. Her eyes were a gorgeous blue, and they looked like pure sapphires as they were wet and filled with pain. Magnificent was her pale skin that was covered with the marks of shadowhunters. Her legs were long and muscular, and her arms were perfect as was every part of her body. She wore a pure black gown that was tight on her hips, and two slits were on each side of the legs to allow movement. There were no sleeves, and her pale shoulders would have been bare if a black cloak were not draped over them.

She shook with pure fear and confusion; she was so frightened, but she knew what had to be done. Her only fear was what consequences would come from doing what was right. Banishment, hate, and eternal suffering would be the punishment for such a crime, but a real crime would be to not do what was right. She would lose everything she had ever known, but she knew what was right, and it had to be done. The only problem was that doing what was right meant doing something horribly wrong. Still, it had to be done.

So she lifted her head from her tear-stained hands and gazed at the golden dagger. Her shaking hand grabbed the diamond studded hilt firmly. "God give me strength to do what is right," she whispered. Then she glided from the chair with the dagger clutched in her hand, and she pushed open the door and marched out of the chamber.

The halls were almost dark, but the moonlight lit her path. Plus she did not need any light to find her destination. She had traveled this path many times; it was second nature to her. Soon she reached a very familiar pair of great golden doors. These doors led to the bed chamber of the leader of the Clave, her husband. Runes were carved into the doors along with many other beautiful carvings that showed the history of the Clave. The moonlight made the carvings shine, and they appeared to be almost guiding her to what was right.

Slowly and quietly, she pushed open one of the large golden doors. It was completely dark in the bed chamber except for the moonlight shining in through an open window. A man snoring could be heard throughout the chamber and the silhouette of a bed could be seen in the middle of the dark room.

The woman knew the chamber well, and she quietly and easily walked to the bed. On the large bed lay a young man with half his body nestled under the many fur blankets, her husband. The moonlight shined off of his skin revealing marks just like the ones on her skin. Both of them were shadowhunters, and now both of them were murderers. His neck was completely exposed, and she held the dagger against the tender skin of his neck. From the pressure of the knife on his body his eyes flickered open. "Magnolia?" he exclaimed. She could see the reflection of the moon in his open eyes. Hate, not sadness, shot through Magnolia's entire body.

"Goodbye," she muttered. Then she slid the golden knife over his throat and watched as a black liquid spilled from the fatal wound.

Magnolia jumped from the bed as her dying husband scrambled to save himself. "Help!" he gagged as he fell off the bed. He knocked over a glass statue as he fell, and a loud crash echoed through the bed chamber. Magnolia backed away as a pool of blood made its way across the smooth stone floor.

Footsteps could be heard in the hallway outside of the gold doors of the bed chamber. Soon the doors burst open, and guards carrying torches and blades marched in. The chamber was now illuminated with light, and Magnolia could see the ruby blood that covered the floor near her dead husband. The main guard, a large man and a famous shadowhunter, looked at the limp body on the floor, and then he turned to look at Magnolia and the bloody dagger still clutched in her hand.

"What have you done?" he asked, shocked. "You've murdered the leader of the Clave! Why?" he screamed. Magnolia was silent as she searched for an answer. "Why?" he yelled again.

Magnolia turned her gaze from the limp body to the angry guard, "Because it had to be done," she replied calmly. "It was the right thing to do."

The guard looked even more furious. His chest, which was covered with thick black armor, was racing up and down. Fire shown in his eyes, and his face was turning a dark red. "Murder is never right. Get her," he ordered. Several guards marched to Magnolia with their steles ready. She dropped the golden dagger and held out her hands willingly. One of the guards burned a familiar rune on her wrists, and her hands were locked together.

The guards pushed her toward the main guard. He walked to her and looked her in the eyes. His eyes were black and dark, the exact opposite of her light blue eyes. He lifted his black gloved hand to her white cheek. His gloved fingers slid over her soft skin. "It's a shame. One would think that someone as beautiful as you would know right from wrong."

Magnolia was silent for a moment, and when she spoke her voice was soft but steady. "I did know right from wrong, and I knew to do what was right…I had to do what was wrong. My husband could no longer live. It was the right thing to do," Magnolia said sternly. She knew what she had done, and right now she was scared to death because of it. Still, she knew she had done the right thing, and she had no regrets.

"Very well then, take her to the Bone City. There she will wait for trial. I suspect she'll receive the worst of all curses, and I do believe she deserves it," the guard announced. Then the other guards dragged Magnolia from the room, and out of the life she had always known.


	2. Chapter 1 Cursed

**Once again, please excuse any details that aren't exactly right with the book. I did my best to make everything work, but there can always be minor things that I miss. Thanks for the review that I got. Thanks so much. Um...enjoy chapter 1!:) And I promise it will get a lot more action packed as time goes on...and I mean a lot. **

**Chapter 1- Cursed**

Clary gazed intently at the aging woman that sat silently in front of her. "You look just like your mother," Madeline whispered with a warm smile on her slender lips.

It was hard for Clary not to laugh. "Except not near as beautiful," she remarked almost sarcastically. Anyone who said she looked like her mother was either blind or lying.

Again Madeline smiled. "An attitude like that just makes you more beautiful," said Madeline, "to be humble is to be great," she continued. Her tiny hands were still and folded in her lap. On her face was an expression of pure warmth and comfort. This woman wasn't near as beautiful as Jocelyn, but she wasn't hideous or ugly. Slender lips smiled elegantly under a long, almost crooked nose. She had kind hazel eyes. They were the kind of eyes a mother had. They were warm and comforting…just like her expression.

Today she wore a long dark coat with a hood that she had removed. Her silver hair was draped neatly over her squared shoulders, and she sat in front of Clary with more than perfect posture. Madeline was sitting on one side of Jocelyn's bed, and Clary was sitting on the other side.

"Thanks…I guess," Clary replied with a confused smile. "So how do we wake my mother up?"

Madeline's brown eyes shifted to Jocelyn's still body. The soft rising of her chest was the only thing that proved her mother to be alive. "You know she was so scared of him…she was always scared of him. Every single day was like hell for her. I can only imagine how much fear she felt…how horrible it must have been to live in such terrible fear. Still your mother was strong and kept going even with that constant fear throbbing in her heart. She was always the stronger of us," said Madeline. Her eyes never left Jocelyn.

"Mom was always strong…always," Clary murmured as she glanced at her mother's sleeping form. There was a brief moment of silence between the two. "So how do we do it? Wake her up I mean?"

Madeline turned her head quickly toward Clary and gave her a weak smile. "Well I can't tell you exactly, but I can get you on the right track," explained Madeline. Clary furrowed her brow.

"So this isn't going to be easy?"Clary asked as her heart fell. She was hoping that it would be a simple task, but she was beginning to realize that nothing in the mysterious world of shadowhunters was ever easy. Still, she would do anything to help her mother.

"No, in fact it might be the hardest thing you've ever done, and I know you've done a lot of hard things," said Madeline.

Clary sighed. "We might as well get started then so shoot. I'm all ears," Clary announced trying to be confident.

"Your mother placed a curse on herself...the worst of all curses," began Madeline gravely.

"A curse?" repeated Clary.

Madeline nodded. "A curse, and this particular curse causes the mind…spirit…to go to another world…another place. The body is left unharmed, however, and it will remain that way until the mind is rescued," continued Madeline.

Clary listened intently. In the few short weeks she had known of shadowhunters and their many unique ways she had never talked about curses. She knew absolutely nothing about any of them, and from the sound of it…she didn't want to know. "Where do the minds go?" asked Clary with deep curiosity.

Madeline looked down at her hands, hesitating. "The curse is used to send the souls of damned shadowhunters to a very horrible place…the City of Spirits. It's a place that only those souls can go…normally…but Jocelyn found a way. She knew it was the only way that Valentine wouldn't be able to get to her, and her body is protected by the curse. Her body can't be harmed while she's there. This is part of the curse because the spirit can not be there unless the body is alive." Madeline paused and looked at Clary.

"So how do we get her spirit out of this place?" inquired Clary with a glance toward her mother. She couldn't believe her mother would put herself in such a place. That she would go through such horrors to protect herself from Valentine, and it hurt her to know her mother was in such a place.

Madeline took a deep breath. This part, above all, was the hardest thing of all to explain. "You can not get into the City of Spirits without help," she said.

"Who can help me?" Clary asked very quietly.

A weak smile appeared on Madeline's face. "Either you can commit a horrible crime and let the Clave put you under the curse, or you can find someone that can tell you how."

Clary's brow was not furrowed even more, and she hoped that this Madeline woman didn't think she was being rude. "So how do I find this person that can help me?"

"Well she is the only one to escape from the City of Spirits…her name is Magnolia, and I can't tell you how to find her," Madeline replied.

"Why can't you tell me?" Clary questioned, confused.

"Because she has to find you…You see before your father came about she was the Clave's most wanted person. She killed a man named Marlowe whom happened to be her husband as well as the leader of the Clave. Unfortunately for her, she was caught that same night and placed under the spirit curse. She escaped not long afterward though. No one knows quite how she escaped," Madeline continued with the details.

"Ok so if this person was able to escape…why can't my mother?" Clary asked, still confused.

Madeline simply shrugged her shoulders. "I'm terribly sorry to say this…but I have no idea."

Clary felt like she was about to have a mental break down. Nothing about this shadowhunter world made any sense. Angrily, she shot out of her seat and turned to face the wall trying to contain her frustration. After a minute she took a deep breath and turned around to face Madeline. "So you're saying that I have to find a person I can't find to help my mother's mind…spirit…whatever escape from a place she can't escape from? Is that what you're saying?"

Madeline simply nodded. "That sounds about right." Then her eyes turned to someone standing in the door to the room. Clary shot around to see Jace, looking very handsome, leaning against the door frame very elegantly.

"That sounds like quite an adventure," he put in nonchalantly. "I guess we better get started."

Clary rolled her eyes and turned back to Madeline. Normally Jace just took her breath away, but now she was so upset she barely noticed any detail about him…which was definitely saying something. Now she knew that there was no guarantee that her mother could be cured. There was no guarantee that his woman would find them or that they could find her. It was almost hopeless but only almost. Therefore she would have to try, and she would have to try very hard. Her mother had to be helped. "That's it though we don't even know where to start," she sighed. "This woman could be anywhere in the world…anywhere."

Jace laughed condescendingly. Gracefully, he walked into the room to stand next to Clary. He gave Jocelyn a weird look before he spoke, and Clary could tell he felt very uncomfortable being around her mother…his mother too. "Then we better get started soon," he added. A smile appeared on his face before he turned to leave the room…still very elegantly.

"Wait…I've got one more question," Clary announced with authority. "Why do you suppose this woman…Magnolia...found my mother?"

Madeline's hazel eyes widened. "Well I suppose this woman sensed that your mother was of a certain importance. No one can really know though. Magnolia isn't the type of person most of us are well acquainted with. She's very mysterious and extremely unpredictable," she replied.

Clary took a deep breath and went to stand by her mother's bed. Slowly, she took her mother's cold hand in her own and very carefully she placed a soft kiss on her mother's pale cheek. "I'll find a way mom…I promise. I love you," she whispered. Then she left the room to find Jace, and hopefully the key that would wake her mother.


	3. Chapter 2 Confused

**Sorry for the long wait. I'm just going to admit it, I completely forgot about that Jace thing. It's been awhile since I've read the books, but I came up with an explanation for it that helps the story. So if I make some other type of mistake please tell me...nicely...and I'll fix it or explain it. Thanks for the reviews everyone! Enjoy the latest update.**

**Chapter 2-Confused **

Jace had a strange smile on his face as they ventured to the hospital elevator. The sun shined brightly through the gargantuan windows at the end of the hall, and the floor was strangely empty for a hospital, especially a hospital of this size. "What are you so happy about?" Clary asked Jace referring to his peculiar smile. It wasn't the sarcastic-I'm better than everyone else-you better get the hell out of my way-Jace smile. No, it was like Jace was trying to fake his own unique smile. It was very bizarre.

"We finally know how to wake your mom up," Jace quickly answered, he did not look at Clary. The elevator doors slowly opened, and they stepped in. There was no one else in the cracked and rusted elevator. Jace pressed the floor one button where the lobby was located, and the doors shut.

"You're lying," Clary replied simply.

"How would you know?" Jace still could not look her in the eye.

"Because I just know you. You wouldn't be smiling like that in a place you didn't want to be," Clary declared. "And don't tell me the haircut changed your personality."

"What makes you think I don't want to be here?"

An even more confused look appeared on Clary's face. "Because you…said so yourself. You said you wouldn't come here unless you had a good reason," she explained.

Jace shrugged his shoulders, and the elevator beeped as it went down another floor. "Maybe I had a good reason."

Clary rolled her eyes. "And what's that?"

Again Jace flashed that not Jace smile and turned to Clary. "Maybe I wanted to see you," he said seriously.

This time Clary had to laugh. "Jace, I remember the look on your face when you said you did not like it here, and I also know when you have that look you mean it. There's no way you'd come here for me." Now Clary definitely wanted to know what her crazy brother was hiding.

The elevator doors slid open, and Jace quickly scurried out with a relieved look on his face. His quick stride had Clary sprinting to catch up with him, and he was almost out of the hospital lobby before Clary finally did catch him. "What's your problem?" she demanded to know.

"I have no problem," he muttered under his breath. Clary could sense that something was up. Something just felt wrong, and she knew she had good instincts. They were out of the lobby now and making their way past the crowded entrance to the elevator. They passed a guy that was smoking who gave the kids a weird look. Then everything stopped.

Literally, everything stopped. It took a moment for Clary to realize what was going on, and she became even more confused. She turned to Jace, and noticed the look on his face. It was almost as if he knew exactly what was going on, and he seemed scared but definitely determined. The scared part was absolutely not Jace.

Slowly, she examined her surroundings. Everything was frozen. The birds in the air, the wind in the trees, even the smoke of the man they had passed just moments before was frozen in time. "What's going on?" Clary asked, frightened but ready for anything.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a black arrow flew through the air and hit Jace straight in the chest, but he did not fall to the ground. Clary didn't even have time to scream before a white cloud of smoke began to cover his entire body. Clary could not see him at all, and she was standing right beside him. It was undeniably one of the strangest things she had ever seen, and she had seen a lot of strange things.

The mist was gone as quickly as it had appeared, and when it was gone, standing where Jace had been not a minute before, was a beautiful woman. She was very tall, and she was the most stunning woman Clary had ever seen. Short midnight black hair went to her pale and perfect shoulders. Her eyes were the color of caramel, and her lips were the color of a red rose. She wore a black corset that left her arms, shoulders, and the bottom of her stomach bare. The corset had rich and beautiful silver designs on it, and also, she wore a black skirt that went a little past her knees. It has a silver looking belt at the top with a blue sapphire in the middle. She looked like something from a medieval porn movie, but Clary had to admit, she looked cool.

The woman quickly pulled a large and spectacular sword from a holder on her back. It was studded with blue sapphires all the way from the hilt to the top of the blade, and gold and silver designs lined the entire sword as well. "Run." the woman ordered in lovely but stern voice. She jumped in front of Clary and seemed to be looking for something in a crowd of frozen people, and she had the sword in her hand, ready to fight.

Clary was too shocked to follow the woman's order. "Are you deaf? Get the hell out of here!" the woman yelled again, she did not even look back to Clary. Her eyes were still intently searching for an invisible enemy. She looked so serious that Clary couldn't even find the words to fight with her. So Clary ran. She ran as fast as she could.

She ran through the parking lot, ran to the sidewalk and across the street, through the line of cars frozen in time. Not once did she look behind her even though she could feel the evil that was surrounding the area. It was an evil like no other. Clary could feel it in the flutter of her heartbeat, and in her soul.

She must have run nearly five blocks and still, everything in site was completely frozen in time. "What the hell?" she screamed, spinning around to inspect her surroundings. If she hadn't been used to this kind of strangeness then she would have been near hysterics. Even so, she could feel tears emerging from her eyes.

"You're his daughter," a male voice nearly snarled from behind her. Clary froze; even her breath ceased for a moment. Carefully, she turned around. Behind Clary stood a very handsome man with a smile on his perfect lips. Everything about him was perfect, like the woman Clary had seen moments before. Also like the woman, he was dressed all in black, and he too looked like he was out of some sort of medieval movie. This man held a bow in his hands, again all black, and Clary could see the familiar black arrows in the holder around his back.

That's when Clary realized that this man was the enemy. She didn't even think before she instinctively ran in the other direction. The man smiled sadistically and burst into a cloud of black smoke, and in moments he was standing in Clary's getaway path. She nearly ran into him. "What do you want from me?" Clary whispered as she looked up into his black, soulless eyes.

The smile grew on his face, and he reached his hand up to flide it across Clary's sweat drenched face. She shuddered from his ice cold touch. "You," he murmured back. His voice sent shivers down Clary spine. His voice was like terrifying silence, like loneliness. Tears began to slide down Clary's cheeks, and for the first time in a long time she felt true terror. Then all of a sudden a white smoke wrapped around the man and threw him at least twenty feet away from Clary. She fell to the ground as if some unseen force had pushed her as hard as it could, and she hit her head on the rough cement; then everything went black.

When Clary awoke her whole body hurt. Her arms, her legs, everything was throbbing. She could hear all the noises going on around her, but she could not find the strength to open her eyes. Part of her didn't know if it was from the head injury, or from the terrible fear she could still feel pulsing through her veins. "She's been out for awhile. Do you think she's ok?" Clary recognized that to be the voice of the strange woman that had impersonated Jace.

"She just hit her head. It's not that big a deal." It was another female voice, except it was normal, but definitely not normal in a bad way. This voice had the sound of a woman that had experienced great hardship in her life, and had been greatly changed by those hardships.

That was when Clary noticed that she was lying on a ridiculously soft something, and her head was even more cushioned then the rest of her body. She also noticed that the room was the perfect temperature, and a sweet scent filled her nostrils. So, seeing that these women weren't going to hurt her, she finally found the courage to open her eyes.

She had been expecting light to blind her eyes, but it didn't. No the room was dimly lit, and Clary guessed that candles were making that small light. Clary then noticed the two pairs of eyes staring straight back at her. One pair was caramel like the woman from the hospital, and the other pair was the most beautiful shade of blue. "Welcome back," said the woman with the blue eyes. "This is Andrea," she said as she glanced toward the other woman. "And my name is Magnolia."


	4. Chapter 3 Marked

**Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy! :)**

**City of Spirits**

**Chapter 3: Marked**

Clary stared at the beautiful woman named Magnolia with curious eyes. "Where am I?" she asked, more confused than ever. Slowly, she tried to sit up, but she quickly felt the effects of her head injury when the room started to spin, and she fell back down.

"You're safe, and that's all that matters," replied the woman Clary knew to be Magnolia.

"Just get some rest, you had quite a head injury," Andrea put in. They were still staring down at Clary like they were doctors and Clary was a high priority patient.

Clary really wanted some answers right now, but she felt the strong fatigue weighing her body down as if bricks were piled on top of her. Plus the room was still slightly spinning which was doing a good job of keeping her still. Defeated, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes again she immediately recognized the ceiling of her room at the Institute. Her body no longer felt weak, and thankfully, the room was staying in place. Seeing that she wasn't going to spill the contents of her stomach anytime soon, she rose off the bed very slowly.

Her room was completely dark, and that helped a lot. She wasn't sure how much light her eyes were ready to take. She moved her body to let her feet hang off the bed, and she took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the well-known room. That was when she noticed it.

In the corner furthest from her was a dark shadow; a dark shadow shaped like a man. Her heart nearly stopped along with her breath. But she was no coward. She felt a lump in her pocket, and she reached into it to pick up the familiar shape of the witchlight. Slowly, she held it out in front of her. Then, taking a deep breath, she activated it, illuminating the room in a beautiful light.

She gasped when she saw that the figure in the corner was the man from the street that she had been so afraid of. His skin was pale as bone, and his eyes were glowing red like blood in the supernatural light. He smiled, that same wicked smile. Clary cowered back until she could go no further. Like before, the room began to spin, and everything else became a mysterious blur…except for the mortifying figure of the man. The man smiled at her fear the whole time. His smile was so horrible, so evil. For some reason Clary felt as if his dark red eyes had captured her in a net that she could never break out of. Intense moments that seemed like endless decades passed, and all the man did was stare at her with that dreadful smile and those capturing eyes.

Then he broke into a cloud of black smoke that moved toward Clary with tremendous speed. It wrapped her in a cocoon of smoke, suffocating her. The smoke smelled of pure death and it seemed to drain all hope from her body and all happiness. She tried to scream, but the sound disappeared into the cold and black abyss around her. Soon she began to feel a great sense of fatigue, and a small tear ran down her pale face. Everything good felt like it was vanishing, and she thought of Jace. She thought of his handsome face, and his angelic smile. More importantly though, she thought of how much of an idiot she had been for letting him believe that she didn't care for him. Now she was probably going to die, and he would never know the truth. He would never know that she loved him completely and unconditionally.

Cold wind felt like it was wrapping tightly around her, but then she felt a strange burning sensation on the palm of her right hand. It was faint at first, but then the slight burning sensation turned into pure fire and flames. Clary felt her entire hand catch on fire with the pain emerging from her palm. The pain was unbearable, utterly unbearable. Tears began to emerge from her eyes; again she tried to scream, but the sound was swallowed by the smoke.

"Clary!" It was Jace's voice. She searched for him, but she saw nothing but darkness. "Clary!" This time she felt his strong hands on her shoulder which ripped her out of the darkness. Suddenly, she saw his face, his beautiful, mystical face.

It was no longer dark. The room was bathed in sweet light. "What happened?" Clary choked. Her heart rate was still racing with fear.

Jace had a petrified look on his flawless face. He was truly scared for her. "You were having a nightmare," he answered quickly. They were in Clary's room in the Institute and the clock revealed it to be early morning.

Clary gulped and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was surprised by the move, but then he enclosed his strong arms around her waist, trying to protect her from whatever had frightened her so much. He felt her tears soak through his shirt and wet his shoulder. "It was so much more than a nightmare though," Clary quietly sobbed.

Clary then became rigid and began to shake. A look of pure terror washed over her face, and she jumped off the bed and was in the bathroom in a quick moment. Jace, quite worried and confused, rushed after her. When he reached the bathroom door he saw Clary rubbing her hands vigorously in the sink, with her face as pale as chalk. "Clary?" Jace whispered. She did not notice him. She seemed like a mad woman.

He approached her cautiously. Carefully, he put his hand on her shoulder, but she did not seem to notice him. "It's really there. It really happened," she muttered under her breath. Jace had never seen her act in such a manner.

"Clary, you're going to rub your hands off. What's the matter?" He reached into the sink and grabbed her wet hands. Her entire arm was shaking, and Jace heard her whimper a bit as he pulled opened her hand to examine it.

"It wasn't just a nightmare," she cried glaring at her hand. Shining bright red in the palm of her hand was a strange symbol nearly glowing red. It was an "x" made from two zig- zagged lines. "He was here, in my room," continued Clary. Her eyes were red from crying, and her cheeks were pale and wet with tears.

Jace reached over, trying to stay calm for her sake, and wiped a newly formed tear from her cheeks. Her skin was cold as ice. "Who was here?" he asked. "It wasn't Valentine was it?"

Clary shook her head slowly and snatched her hand away from him. She backed off slowly shaking her head. "No he's worse much, much worse," she seemed to be in some sort of daze as she spoke. "He's like pure fear." She couldn't believe how scared the man made her. In the time she'd been a shadowhunter she'd faced much worse and had overcome it easily, but this man made her petrified. She looked up at Jace who was frozen in place. "It's as if he's meant to scare me and only me. He is my fear," she whispered.

Never had Jace seen his beloved sister this way. "Does he have anything to do with yesterday?" Jace asked curiously and worriedly.

Clary furrowed her brow. "What?"

"We found you out cold in the elevator late last night. Someone had put you there. You've been out of it for awhile. You don't remember what happened before that?"

A confused look was still on Clary's face. "I don't know how I got into the elevator, but I remember what happened before that...but it all seemed so unreal," she answered.

"Well what happened?"Jace crossed his arms and leaned against the bathroom wall. He was trying to relax in hopes that it would help Clary relax, but he was still quite worried for his little sister.

As Clary explained the events of the day before Jace listened with deep curiosity. After she finished, he was kind of shocked. "A woman was impersonating me?" he asked, stunned. "Why would she do that? How would she do that?"

Clary shrugged her shoulders. "I kind of got the feeling that she was protecting me."

"Protecting you from what?" He glanced down at her marked hand. It was still shaking in either fear or pain. "Was it him? Did you see him yesterday as well?"

Slowly, Clary nodded. "He said he wanted me. Then something happened and I fell to the ground and hit my head. I think that Magnolia woman saved me or it was the other woman…Andrea. They can turn into some weird kind of white smoke…like the man…except it's white."

Jace was getting more confused by the minute. "Did you say Magnolia?"

Clary nodded. "Have you heard of the name? Madeline said she was cursed I think."

"Well it's supposed to be a legend. I guess the Clave doesn't want to talk much about it. Magnolia supposedly killed her husband and escaped from the curse that was her punishment. They could never capture her, and it's said that the curse has given her strange powers and immortality…among other things," Jace explained.

"Powers?"

Jace nodded. "They say she has the powers of a ghost, and she's not the only one. Over the centuries she has helped others escape to gain the same powers," he paused. "Over the years they've come to be known as spirithunters."


	5. Chapter 4 Explanations

**Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: Explanations**

Magnus stared intently at Jace, his eyebrow forming more of a triangle as Jace continued to explain the exceptionally odd story. Odd even by Magnus's standards, and that meant that it had to be quite a strange story. Magnus was no stranger to strange things but this kind of story he had only heard of in legend. If Jace hadn't come banging on his apartment door so late looking like hell warmed over, than Magnus would have taken his peculiar tale to be no more than a not very clever joke.

Magnus sat down on his gargantuan and lavish sofa after Jace had finished trying desperately to sort out this tale. "Spirithunters?" repeated the wizard, still not convinced. Jace simply nodded. He was standing before Magnus with his face nearly hidden in the dark shadows. Magnus wiped his hand nervously through his still spiked and glittery hair. Although Magnus was skeptical about the shadowhunter's story, a strange since of fear was invading his body. His strong instincts were kicking in. Something was very wrong. Magnus knew it, and he was hardly ever wrong. "Where is Clary now? Is she alright?"

"She's back at the Institute. She's fine, but I don't know how long that will last," Jace explained as he took a seat beside the warlock.

The tense feeling in Magnus's body only got tenser when the shadowhunter took a seat beside him. There was no heat radiating off Jace's body. All humans, even shadowhunters, had that heat. It was a sign of life; this was not Jace, and this person was not alive. "What do you want?" asked Magnus.

"I want you to help her," said the person that looked like Jace with false sincerity.

Magnus did not even bother looking at him. "No you don't. Did you come here to kill me? I won't let you do it without a fight."

"No, why would I want to kill you?"

"Stop with the bull. Just try whatever you're going to do."

Jace smiled. "I should have known you'd figure things out quick enough. You're too good at what you do to be fooled." The man…Jace…stood up to face Magnus. "You can't' stop me though."

"Probably not. Anyone good enough to get past my security spells and change their form is obviously pretty darn powerful, and I probably won't be able to stop you. But I can sure as hell try," Magnus concluded with a smile.

Quickly, Magnus held out his hand and recited his strongest offensive spell, hoping to kill the impersonator. A flash of purple lightning shot out of his shaking hand toward the imposter. The flash hit squarely in the chest of the poser. Instead of him falling to the ground dead, however, he looked at his chest and then to Magnus. "Ouch?" he said in a mocking manner. Then he burst into a cloud of black smoke, and when the smoke dissipated, no more than a second later, Jace was gone. Now there was new man standing in his place. A handsome man, a deceivingly handsome man, now stood in his place. He was extremely pale, like a vampire, but he was no vampire. On his face was a frightening smile…even by Magnus's standards. Truly, this man was evil.

This monster waved his hand through the air and a cloud of black smoke surrounded his hand. When the smoke cleared a long black arrow was in his grasp. The arrow was blazoned with silver carvings and small rubies making at obvious that the black weapon was no ordinary arrow. "Do you know what this is?" asked the man as he gently graced the magnificent arrow with his hand.

Magnus simply glared at the man. "Why won't my spells work on you?"

"This particular arrow can kill anything of this world. Vampires, werewolves…warlocks….anything can come to an end with this arrow." He sat down beside Magnus once more. "They Clave cursed it long ago…or perhaps it was already cursed when they found it. Who knows? It doesn't really matter…they effect is the same no matter the arrow's origins." The man threw an arm over Magnus's shoulders…as if they were friends. "There are two others like it. Each one looks different. As you can see…this one has red rubies embedded in it to represent…evil. The Clave has one with blue sapphires in it…to represent goodness I suppose. Although I think it's a load of bull but whatever."

Magnus turned to look the man in the eye. "Why won't you answer my question? Why don't my spells work on you?"

The man ignored him and continued with his tale. "The third one is owned by a _friend of mine _named Magnolia. It has white diamonds embedded in it, and it by far is the most special." The man waved the arrow in Magnus's face. "This one has limited power…like the one the Clave possess. It has the power to kill people of this world, and return people from the spirit. The one the clave owns is the exact opposite. It can kill beings of the spirit world, and it can send souls to that land of the cursed," he sighed. "Obviously, all of the arrows are priceless artifacts…however…I wish I could posses the arrow owned by dear old Maggie. You see it has the power of both the other arrows…," he paused and looked Magnus in the eye, "…among other things," he finished with. "I know I must be boring you."

"Inconceivably so…," Magnus muttered. "If you're going to kill me than kill me. Of course any more of this stupid arrow conversation will certainly get the job done for you."

Again that wicked smile came over the man's flawless features. "Very well then," he whispered. He did not waste a second before lunging the arrow straight into Magnus's heart. A glorious burst of scarlet light illuminated the room for a quick instant before everything went back to normal. Everything became silent, very silent. No longer did the bizarre man sit beside Magnus on the couch. No, now only Magnus sat on the couch…completely still. His head was leaning over, limp, with his chin near his bloody chest. He did not move.

Jace's eyes flashed open. It was pitch black in Clary's room. He reached over on her nightstand and turned the switch of the lamp. The lamp came to life, and Jace turned around to see Clary. They were both lying on her bed beside each other. Her full head of crimson hair was rested on his shoulder. She had her still white hands resting near her head, and she was looking up at Jace with a bizarre expression in her emerald eyes. "Are you alright?" he inquired.

"A little better," she replied. She had a disappointed look in her eyes though, and she turned her face away from Jace to look toward the foot of the bed.

"What's the matter?" he quickly asked.

"Nothing." Her eyes came back to meet his. "I just don't want this moment to end," she admitted. Jace almost thought he saw a tear fall down her face. Even though she was sad, he had to smile.

He leaned over and placed a loving kiss on her forehead. "Clary," was all he could say. His other arm instinctively came over and wrapped itself around Clary's shoulders. Thankfully she was no longer shivering. "Nothing we do ever has to end. I'll always be where you are some way or another. You have a part of my heart and my soul. And when I'm around you…well let's just say you bring out the real me. Around you, I never have to put up a tough exterior. I can just be Jace," he said for some unknown reason. The words seemed to just leak out. She was doing to him what she did best.

Clary smiled. "And you make me feel safe. I feel like…like no matter what you can save me." She sat up and put her hand on his chest. Her skinny fingers traced his muscles hidden underneath the shirt. "In fact I don't think I would have woken up from that nightmare without you. I was getting lost in the smoke, but somehow you pulled me out, you found me," she looked down at the mark upon her palm. "And when I'm around you I don't feel scared," she said.

No expression was on Jace's face. All he could do was feel the ache in his body for her. _Darn my stupid blood!_ He thought. The relation between him and Clary was getting on his last nerves. The look on Clary's face told him she was probably thinking the same thing. Slowly, like an unstoppable force was pulling them together their heads got closer and closer. A strong fire was beginning to burn its way up through bother their bodies, and the fire was passion. Their lips were almost touching, both could feel the electricity between them, when a loud knock erupted from outside the door. Both Clary and Jace jumped at the loud noise.

"Jace! Clary! Come on!" It was Isabelle, and she sounded frantic. "Something terrible has happened!" she cried.


	6. Chapter 5 Bad News

**Sorry about the unGodly long wait after a cliffhanger. I've had really bad writer's block for this story. Anyway I won't make you wait that long again, and I will do my best to put a chapter up every week. Anyway please enjoy, and I'm really, really sorry. :(  
**

**Chapter 5: Bad News**

The sun was just rising when they came to the loft of the great Magnus Bane. A strange and disturbingly beautiful light was cast over the door from the morning sun. It was a mixture of bright orange, golden yellow, and a ghostly red. Clary immediately felt a terrible feeling emerging within her. Something was wrong.

Isabelle entered the apartment first with her hand clasped tightly around her whip. Clary hesitated before entering. She wasn't psychic, but her gut instincts were strong. Those instincts were telling her to leave, leave it all right now. Then again, they were always telling her that, and she had always ignored them. Why should she start being rational now? So she took a deep breath and entered the apartment.

The apartment was cold; that was the first thing Clary noticed when she walked inside Magnus's home. Second, she noticed that it was quiet. Magnus's place was never quiet, and the apartment was especially never THIS quiet. It was the kind of quiet you felt and heard, and that was the most disturbing type of silence. Dead silence.

Clary shivered. That was when she noticed the third thing about the apartment, and this by far was the most unsettling thing of all. In fact, it was the cause of the eerie cold and the frightening quiet. It was Magnus himself, except he wasn't himself. He was sitting, like a statue, on his couch with his eyes wide open in fear. He was dead. Clary couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her lips, or the tears that emerged in her eyes. Slowly she felt her knees collapse, and she was falling to the floor. She felt like she was slipping away from the room like a scared animal scurries from what frightened it. But then she felt a strong force wrap around her stomach that pulled her back into her body.

"Be strong little sister," Jace whispered in her ear from behind her before placing a kiss on her cheek.

Clary immediately felt better. Jace kept his arm wrapped tightly around her as he walked closer to Magnus. "Does Alec know?" Clary asked. Magnus was her friend, but he was much more to Alec. He wouldn't take it well. Anyone in this circumstance wouldn't take it well.

"No." It was Isabelle that answered Clary's question. She walked up behind Clary and Jace and stopped to gaze at Magnus. "We'll have to tell him though. He'll find out sooner or later. Personally, I'd rather the news come from me."

Clary looked up at Jace's face. He looked so serious, so solemn. It was strange to see Jace look such a way. He was normally so care free and well crazy…in a good way of course. Clary sighed and knelt down in front of Magnus's body. Almost instinctively her hands drifted to his eyes. Gently, she closed them with her fingers. She then picked up his cold hands and placed a kiss on them. "Are we going to have a funeral?"

"You don't have funerals for those that are not completely dead," announced a female voice. Isabelle, Jace, and Clary both jumped and turned toward the source of the strange voice, the door to the room.

It was the mysterious woman Magnolia standing there. With the woman that had impersonated Jace at the hospital. "Who the hell are you?" Jace asked getting back to his familiar, defensive self.

"Shut it Jace," Clary ordered. "These are the women that saved me from that man the first time," explained Clary. She stood up and went to stand by Jace. "What do you mean he's not completely dead?"

"Yeah I would like to know that too. Cause he looks 100% dead to me," Jace put in angrily.

Magnolia simply smiled at him, and then she said something to Andrea in a strange language Clary had never heard before. Andrea disappeared into the dark room behind where the two stood. Magnolia then walked over to where Magnus sat, and she waved her hand in a weird way. A cloud of white smoke surrounded her arm, and when the smoke disappeared she was holding a fantastic arrow. The arrow was made of white gold with large diamonds imbedded in it. Lines of regular gold also were entwined in the glorious weapon.

"What's that?" Isabelle exclaimed.

Magnolia simply turned to her with a smile. "It's a very special arrow." She then plunged the arrow deep into the old wound in Magnus's heart. A white burst of light than emerged from the arrow surrounding Magnus's body. Clary, Jace, and Isabelle fell to the ground at the power of the light. It was absolutely blinding, but then, as quickly as it had appeared, the light disappeared. Magnolia was still on the couch holding the arrow in Magnus's chest. Then, very gently, she pulled the arrow out of his heart.

The body of Magnus Bane shook, and then, like someone coming out of water, Magnus took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He then fell to the ground all while trying to find his breath. Magnolia laid a comforting hand on his back as he tried to find his place in the world again. "You remember who you are?" she asked. Magnus was now on all fours, still coughing and shaking. "Do you know who you are?" Magnolia asked again, this time more sternly.

An entire minute or two must have passed before Magnus finally found the strength to answer. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course I know who I am. I'm Magnus Bane," answered Magnus in his very Magnus way.

Clary's heart suddenly burst back to life at Magnus's words, and she found herself running to hug him. He seemed surprised by the gesture, but soon enough his strong arms slowly wrapped around Clary's trembling body. "We thought we'd lost you," Clary whispered in his ear.

"Oh hush, hush girl. You can't get rid of me that easily," Magnus laughed. Clary let go of Magnus, and helped him to sit back on the couch beside Magnolia. Then Clary sat crossed legged on the floor in front of Magnus.

She turned around to notice that Jace and Isabelle were not so overjoyed to see Magnus live and well. Of course they did not seem angry whatsoever; they were just greatly confused. Clary had to admit she was pretty confused herself. "What the hell did you just do?" Jace finally asked very rudely of Magnolia.

"This arrow has the ability to bring the newly dead back to life," answered Magnolia. "As for the how does it do that…well I have no clue…it just does," she replied.

"I don't really care about the how," said Isabelle, still in a daze.

"Well I have a problem with trusting people with that kind of power. I also have trouble trusting murderers. Besides Valentine, you're the greatest traitor to the Clave," Jace replied bitterly, his eyes glaring at Magnolia. She simply glared back; a deep anger was evident within her beautiful eyes.

"There is so much that you don't know, and it would be wise for you to watch your arrogant tongue," warned Magnolia in a chilling voice that made Clary shiver.

"Shut up Jace… The woman helped us. We should be thanking her, not questioning her," Isabelle scolded with a voice like ice. "You know sometimes you need to learn to keep your big…no…enormous mouth shut!" she yelled at him before storming into the next room.

"I'll open my big mouth when I want to, and I will say whatever I want to say," screamed Jace in her direction.

"Oh piss off!"shouted Isabelle from the other room.

"Jace please shut up," Clary muttered from the floor.

Jace tried to think of a quick and witty comeback but it was futile. When Clary spoke…he had to listen. So he simply crossed his thick arms and stood silently watching Magnolia. "Thank you," Clary said with her sweet smile which eased some of Jace's tension. Clary then turned to Magnus who appeared to be in his own little world. "First things first, before we interrogate Magnolia…we've got to know what happened to you."

Magnolia seemed not to notice the interrogation remark; instead, she sat up to speak. "I know what happened. You were attacked by a very powerful and evil creature," explained Magnolia. "His name is Abel."

"I used one of my strongest spells on him, and it didn't even faze him," Magnus remarked.

"No I imagine it didn't. Like me, he's no longer of this world. What you see of us is like an apparition of our real bodies. Of course we can do a bit more than a ghost, but it's all really hard to explain. My point is…to kill us, you would have to go the City of Spirits," she whispered, "and you don't want to go there." A moment of silence passed her grave words.

"Is that where my mother is?" asked Clary hopefully.

Magnolia looked at her with kindness in her eyes. "Yes. It was supposed to be a quick and easy journey, but your mother unfortunately got caught up in our little war. I told her how to get out of the spirit world, but she was caught by the dark spirithunters. She will be trapped there until we rescue her, and we can't rescue her until we kill Abel. He is the leader of the dark spirithunters. And unfortunately…"

"Wait what do you mean "we"?" Jace interrupted rudely. "Are you assuming we're going to help you kill this Abel?"

"If that's the way to save my mother, than I'm definitely in," Clary said with an unwavering voice.

"And I'll help just to see that that terrible monster gets a wretched death," Magnus put in.

"That's what I mean when I say "we"," Magnolia replied confidently. "And I  
know you'll help your sister with whatever problem she might face, and I know you'll help me once I finish my story. Now please shut up."

"People seem to really like telling me that today," continued Jace.

"Well they wouldn't say it if they didn't have good reason!" yelled Clary.

"Oh not you, your…"

"Shut up!" everyone in the room screamed at him before he could finish his sentence. After that he seemed to get the point.

"Anyway back to my story. Abel …Abel is working with Valentine." Magnolia said no more, and she didn't need to. Everyone in the room looked at each other solemnly. They knew what those words meant, and it sent shivers down all their spines.

"It's hard enough to stop Valentine alone how are we supposed to stop him with this supremely powerful being on his side?" exclaimed Magnus.

Isabelle now reentered the room with a dark look on her face. Obviously she had overheard the conversation. "Tell me I didn't hear what I thought I heard."

"Yep you did," said Jace nonchalantly. "We are all royally screwed."

* * *

**Ok there are some things I need to get straight. I didn't get quite get this from reading the books, but I'm really slow lol. How old is the Clave? And how long ago was the pact made with the Downworlders? And City of Glass is so close! I'm so excited! Anyway have a great week everyone!**


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